NICARAGUA AND COSTA RICA
bank of the San Juan River, below Castillo,
follows the lowest water mark of a navig
able stage of river. And, if now the lake
shore were itself to be the boundary of
Costa Rica, I would not hesitate to declare
that the semi-submerged land went with
the permanent land and carried her limits
at least to the mean low-water line.
" But this case is not one of a water
boundary; nor is it at all similar, or 'on
all fours' with one, for none of the equi
ties above set forth have any application.
It is a case of rare and singular occur
rence and without precedent, within my
knowledge. A water line is in question,
but not as a boundary. It is only to
furnish starting points whence to meas
ure off a certain strip of territory. Clear
ly the case stands alone, and must be gov
erned strictly by the instrument under
which it has arisen. That is the treaty of
1858; and its language is as follows:
"' Thence the line shall continue tow
ards the river Sapoa, which discharges
into the Lake of Nicaragua, following a
course which is distant always two miles
from the right bank of the river San Juan,
with its sinuosities, up to its origin at the
lake, and from the right bank of the lake
itself, up to the said river Sapoa, where
this line parallel to the said banks will
terminate.'
"The principles upon which the lan
guage and intent of treaties are to be in
terpreted are well set forth in the Costa
Rica argument by many quotations from
eminent authors. All concur that wor.s
are to be taken as far as possible in their
first and simplest meanings-' in their
natural and obvious sense, according to
the general use of the same words '-'
inl
the natural and reasonable sense of the
terms '-'
in the usual sense, and, not in
any extraordinary or unused occupation.'
"We must suppose that the language
of the treaty above quoted suggested to
its framers some very definite picture of
the lake with its banks, and of the two
mile strip of territory. It, evidently,
seemed to them all so simple and obvious
that no further words were necessary.
Let us first call up pictures of the lake,
at different levels, and see which seems
the most natural, obvious and reasonable.
" The very effort to call up a picture of
the lake, at either extreme high water
or extreme low water, seems to me imme
diately to rule both of these levels out of
A. P. Davis, Chief Hydrographer,
Isthmian Canal Commission.
further consideration.
Both seem un
natural conditions, and I must believe
that, had either been intended, additional
details would have been given.
" Next; is the mean low water mark
the first, most obvious and natural picture
called up by the expression, 'the bank of
the lake ?' It seems to me decidedly not.
During about eleven months of the year
this line is submerged, invisible and in
accessible. It seems rather a technical
BOUNDARY BETWEEN
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